Teenagers & Exam Nerves

Teenagers are under a great deal of pressure these days. Preparing for the job market means excelling at school in exams. High unemployment amongst young people means that being prepared with excellent school grades and a full CV are vital. Whether going out to work after GCSE’s at 16 or progressing to A Levels and university, grades are important. Low performance now can affect your son or daughter for the rest of their life.

Juggling various subjects, some of which may be weaker or less interesting, and preparing controlled assessments of coursework means a tremendous workload. I know because my 16 year old son is sitting 14 GCSE’s involving 28 exams and controlled assessments in 9 subjects. Last year I coached him to top grades in 2 foreign language GCSE’s and 1 A Level. Hypnosis helps him to relax and focus.

Eating healthily at this time is important with plenty of Omega 3 fish for brain food. Studying late every night will affect the quality and quantity of sleep.

Our teenagers need time to relax and the ability to recharge their energy enabling them to better concentrate, focus, take in information, remember texts for oral exams and most importantly, keep calm in exams. They might also need a boost in self-confidence and self-belief.

The pressure of the GCSE results will lead to an increase in the number of young people suffering from mental health problems, a leading charity has warned.

“Increasing pressure and stress will have an adverse affect on many young people leading to a range of mental health problems including self harm, eating disorders and depression. For a child who has problems in other areas of their life, such as family breakdown or friendship issues, exams can be the ‘last straw’.

Lucie Russell said: “We need to do much more to protect young people, help them to develop resilience and support them when they find life hard to cope with.”

I enjoy working with young people to make sure they are in the best frame of mind, relaxed and calm about their exams. If they are taking French or Spanish oral exams, I can correct the text and record it on to their smart phone so repetition from a fluent speaker will help them to remember the text.

How I helped one teenage girl with severe problems

A Swedish 16 year old came to see me. She was failing in most subjects, suffered eating and sleep problems and she was cutting herself. At our first session, she was very nervous and could not stop fidgeting. After only three sessions, she felt and appeared much calmer. She could eat and sleep without problem and stopped the cutting. Three months later, she passed all her exams, some with high grades. A year later, she moved to China as an au pair. Her mother told me it was unthinkable that she could have achieved all of this when she first brought her to see me.